Media profanity, just get used to it!

THIS week I found myself in ‘heavy discussion’ with my Irish nearest and dearests. One of them asked if I liked the Mrs. Brown’s Boys TV comedy series.

To their apparent surprise, I told them I didn’t. “Why not?” they enquired, somewhat incredulously. “He’s a wonderful comedian and is so generous with his work and donations to charities.”

“I’m sure he is,” I replied. “It’s the constant tirade of swearing I can’t abide.”

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“Ah, don’t be ridiculous,” they chorused. “He does so much of it that you soon get used to it.” And that statement, to me, summed up the whole problem. As standards in the media deteriorate, particularly on television, the more we accept.

We do in fact ‘get used to it!’ Well I don’t want to ‘get used to it’. I don’t want my front room bombarded with depravity and obscenities. “You can always switch off,” I hear the modern ‘in-crowd’ sneering derisively. Well I’ll tell you, with the depths to which television has now fallen, that can be increasingly difficult. These days it’s almost impossible to watch even the most innocuous of programmes without some, craw sticking expletive deletive.

And this week, to top it all we had a leading member of the bench call the accused a c….! Admittedly the low life in the dock used the same insult to the judge immediately prior, but really…

With monotonous predictability, a thousand tweeted and twittered how wonderful she was, having told this moron exactly what she thought of him. Ok, that’s all very well, but this is a high court judge; a member of our society who should be able to control their emotions impeccably yet still thousands praised her remarks.

And do you know why? Because we’ve ‘gotten used to it’. Well I’ll tell you, the more decadent we become, the more power we hand to our Islamic enemies, whose support for an austere and Sharia Law existence will inevitably appear considerably more attractive to our disillusioned young people. Do we really want to get used to that?

34 COMMENTS

Roy i wrote these comments late at night because i was tired the may not have been well written but it got my point across. Just like you to insult someones intelligence based on a comment not written as well as it could have been

I have to say that the thousand-fold increase in the use of profanity is dragging the country down. The British have become a nation of foul-mouthed and drunken fools, a fact that is recognized the world over.As I sit in a bar here in Marbella during the holiday season all you hear is foul language from most Brits. Looking at the faces of other nationalities you can tell immediately that they are not impressed. Just where have we gone wrong? I think its the lack of proper upbringing ever since the sixties. Many parents these days don’t care at all what their children get up to so long as they are ‘out from under their feet’. It upsets me deeply to see that way that many British people have lost all sense of decency.

It all began a long, long time ago. I recall the visit of my aunt Phylis one afternoon. She insisted she spoke in private with my mother and so was shown into the ” front ” room. Being a curious youth I ear wigged at the door to hear what was so important the front room had to be used.Aunt Phyliss; ” you mustn’t allow Harry to see that new Clif Richards film, ( Expresso Bongo ) she said, it’s full of such bad language, it’s bastard this and bastard that, it’s disgraceful! Such innocent beginnings or so it appears in hindsight, who would take offence at ” bastard ” these days? Look where it’s got to now because we ” got used to it “!

Oh Get over it everybody swears nowadays its normal even back when golden girls was on tv they said bitch all the time on that show so dont start its a new thing. I much more concerned with keeping nudity off tv before the use of the word BASTARD or FECK get off your high horse its ment to be enjoyable if your concerned about dont watch it simple as that no need to write a whole fuckin artical on it keep your opinion s to yourself from now on cant go wrong with a show that brings in so many viewers if you dont like it read a book oh yea their is horriable words in those too!

Some 50+ years ago my wife’s uncle Reg who was an RAF Squadron Leader said: “You can tell a Nations intelligence by what’s on their TV”. Living in Spain and having to listen to the foul mouth Brits nothing is more truthful today.

Because the use of nudity and sex in front of children leads to hypersexualized society which is getting worse everyday with people like rihanna and miley cyrus. A little swearing never hurt anybody and parents can moniter that. I was raised around foul language and i turned out just fine. It’s comedy the world is changing and there’s much worse things in the world to worry about nowadays, not a few words. It’s the parents responsibility to teach thier children right and wrong, not TV

I agree, society is becoming hypersexualised. Well it is at least for children. I fail to understand why parents allow their children go to or watch Rihanna, Miley Cyrus gigs. Similarly, normalising gun viloence and gangsta rap for young boys is disturbing.

However, nudity is another matter altogether. There is nothing wrong with nudity.

Riley, the answer is to read through it before you send it. A case in point: “i was tired the may not have been”. Don’t take this as a personal insult for it is not intended as such. In general the standards of written English have fallen through the floor during the last thirty years. This is due mostly to the sabotage of the education system by Tony Blair in his efforts to get 100% pass rates to make him look good. Another contributing factor is the poor standard of teaching these days. I just hope you will not hold my comment against me, for no insult was intended..

Since I have not had a television set for seven years,I have never seen the programme in question.I got rid of my T.V. set seven years ago and it’s one of the better decisions I have made,I read a lot,listen to a lot of radio,mostly Radio 4,go to the cinema and theatre,walk a lot,visit friends,go on day trips et al.At the moment I am at the Southport Flower Show and enjoying all it has to offer for four days and walking along the sea front at night.I would not have a television now if I was paid to have one,I much prefer having a real life to vegetating in front of a box.

Hi RoyI don’t see the point in teaching written EnglishYou write on computer it corrects mistakesYou text on phone it assumes word & also correct spellingBoth correct sentences.. So unless one of the rare people still using quill & ink !!!!!!! No point in learning more than basic English.. Hell you can even talk a letter into computers now & as long as you can understand the comments again no point in picking up on peoples spelling or phasing.. Spoken & Written English will not get you a better job !!!!!!!!!!!!Cheers The UK TeddyBoy

Continual swearing proves one thing, a lack of vocabulary and therefore education. It was with a glad heart I removed myself from GB shores with my young daughter so she would not have to listen to the parents and their poor offspring blaspheme continually as they were unable to express themselves otherwise!

U.K. Prisons are full of uneducated plebs such as the UK Teddy boy! What a fool. So , let’s not teach maths either as you can pick up a calculator, or cooking as you can use a microwave! No doubt all your offspring swear like troopers as after all why teach them any different or indeed anything! FOOL.

Well said Mark! I would not go back to England these days if you paid me. The place has dropped into a deep hole since Blair came to power. Even here in Spain, if you get a bunch of low life English sitting at the next table in a bar or cafe every other word is a swear word.

No Roy not meant as Joke.. Meant as serious Joke against you.. As we are meant to be commenting on Leapy’s Column & You are picking up on Riley’s spelling. That is the Joke.!!!!. As you knew perfectly well what Riley meant !!!!!!!!!

Oh wrong again Mark !!!!!! Well wrong I inded have Cambridge GCE in Mathmatics.. 99% correct & Cambridge GCE in Carpentry… A GCE in English would serve no purpose !! As not requiredIf you have any qualifications I hope they are ones that get You better Job that Prison Warder.. As you seem to know about Prisons ??????

Of course you got 99/100 in mathematics you probably stole the paper before hand if indeed you can read it. The only thing I know about prisons is you should be in one- what’s more I retired to Spain at 45, that is having achieved “a” level English,maths and History which enabled me to procure a profession that I was successful at and earn enough to never work again! Now feck off and get out with your beer lout friends and swear away till your teddy boy quaff curls up!!

No wrong again Mark ……. I got 99% Mathematics in one of 3 Papers !! & Carpentry again in 3 Papers.I am sure English & History made You Millions to allow early retirement.But then Postmen & Police can Retire at 45 !!!No doubt yours was Postman as Degree in English would help you read the addresses.. I am sure you would do well as either … Then again you do not even know that Comments on these pages are meant to be in regards to Column & its Subject.. But You just take delight in pointing out people error in Spelling… i.e. Riley …. Pathetic person You appear to be … Poor Spain but still UK’s gain ….. Ha Ha I only came on to read Leapy’s Column .. You on other hand come on to find fault in peoples spelling.. You should have been English Teacher.. Sure class would have been spellbound at your knowledge !!! PS no need to reply we don’t want to wear you out

I find I am meeting more and more people in paid employment who can barely spell. Yet here I am looking for work. Even people in senior positions find it difficult to use ‘their’, ‘they’re’ and ‘there’ correctly.

Sometimes I wonder why I bother.

Although I have to agree with Roy Peters. Such a shoddy display of grammar and spelling shows a lack of education, or at the very least, laziness.

Further still, perhaps I can ask Roy to view those with a poor grasp of English in a different light. How would you feel if an Electrician derided your poor electrical skills or a Fitness Trainer mocked your poor aerobic capabilities ? Is it fair to belittle those who are intellectually weaker than yourself ?

Still, use of profanity is very much excessive. Regardless of ones education, one should be able to curtail their swearing. There is seldom need for it.

Sean Dobson, I am similar to yourself in my lack of television. I see it from time to time, but I haven’t had one for some years.

However, I wouldn’t disregard television completely. There are some pretty decent programmes out there. The two biggest issues with tv these days are the amount of repetition and the lies they feed us in the form of news.

Wow ! Was that last paragraph a sly dig at Muslims ? What has profanity in the media got to do with the balance of power ?

Anyway, what I was going to say was that the profanity in Mrs Brown’s Boys, although somewhat excessive is a reasonably accurate reflection of working class Dublin. While it might not be pleasant for some, it is better than using fake language. Don’t you think ?

I might add that the profanity used in Dublin and Ireland as a whole is a little different to perhaps the UK. There is a manner in which it is used which makes it more acceptable and friendly. Whilst it is a little crass sometimes, it certainly isn’t a venomous or vitriolic use of swearing.

Having said that, I do recall whilst growing up, my elders would immediately ask for pardon following the use of profanity. So it wasn’t always as acceptable. Furthermore it would only be occasional. I feel that perhaps the frequency of profanities in everyday life has stemmed from USA television and Hollywood.

That is not to knock the Americans, but rather their media industry. As far as I can tell, it was only following the rise in popularity and occurrence of American TV and movies in Ireland (& Britain ?) that swearing became more common, popular and even cool.

It might be worth noting too, that language is continuously evolving. So what was unacceptable a decade ago, might be more usable today, and vice versa. There is no harm in the change of use of a word.

Yet again your severe lack of English reading and general intellect shines through. Never have I mentioned in any comment anyone’s spelling and neither did I say all teddy boys should be in prison. Unfortunately no doubt you are sloshed by this hour and unable to comprehend the written word or simply illiterate.Funny how the English and History were recalled but not the Maths which enables me to sit as I do now in my Villa while you no doubt lounge in your terraced abode swilling and profaning, enjoy your world and keep well out of mine please God!!

Mr Clark- put the top on your bottle and wake up. I never said all teddy boys should be in prison, I referred to one who I was in conversation with on here before you deemed it necessary in your otherwise boring life to interact upon!

Chris,the dross far outweighs the odd programme worth watching and the quality of programmes seems to get worse as time goes by.I, for one,find it beyond belief that some twelve million people watch a baking programme,mind you,that does mean that fifty million or so people don’t watch it.I hope that I can continue to be active for some years yet and enjoy a full life without a television set.

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